Agent Empowerment Statistics

Unfortunately, only about one third of call center's are empowering their agents in the same way that Enterprise does with its employees, according to research ICMI conducted in 2011. That means that the majority of call center agents are not able to satisfy customers on the spot by way of leeway on accounts, credit or other activity (see graphic).(Source: 2011 ICMI Balancing Call Center Efficiency and the Customer Experience Report)

Of course, no organization can be expected to give agents total control of customer accounts or business practices, but where can you empower them? It’s an important question that will impact your contact center’s first-call resolution (FCR) rate and overall customer satisfaction (C-Sat) scores. One way to find the answer is to create and maintain a formal process for agent input on the customer experience. Nearly half of the centers surveyed said they do this, but the trick is to make sure that you do something with it. Agents can tell you if there’s a frequent issue or complaint: Once you've understood what so many customers want, you’re better able to create a solution for agents to deliver to the customer at the right moment.

And if you can’t give the customer absolute satisfaction – a credit or a product that doesn’t exist or is permanently out of stock, for instance – the agent can still deliver a good experience. How? Training that helps agents develop and emotional connection with customers can empower them to create a positive customer experience. Desktop tools can provide agents with quick access that allows them to explain the situation quickly and thoroughly.

It’s in every contact leader’s power to find a way to free your agents’ hands up deliver customer satisfaction. Start by listening to your customers and to your agents and then finding a way to put what you learn into action.

Layne Holley is an award-winning journalist, and has spent more than 10 years as a business and technology writer and editor covering the people, processes and technologies in the contact center.

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I think we can all agree..that the best customer service we get is when we are speaking with someone that has the ability to help us.
Great article...Thank you for sharing

Rose Polchin— 2:50PM on Nov 18, 2011

If you've seen Enterprise's commercials it is clear they are truly putting their money where their mouth is...and I suspect they also measure the impact of empowering on the bottom line...empowered reps means managers and supervisors time is freed up, customers issues can be resolved faster and with more satisfaction and our frontline are happier...win, win, win!

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